Parliament Speaker: supporting Ukrainian people Georgia’s only motivation in stopping sanctions evasion - no one else deserves such attitude from us, neither Brussels, nor Zelenskyy, nor European Commission

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papushvili on Friday said the interests of the country and its people take precedence over those of the European Union Ambassador, which are of little relevance in this case.

Papuashvili made the remarks in response to a journalist’s question regarding the EU ambassador’s visit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss grants legislation. The Ministry, in turn, issued a statement about the potential inclusion of the Kulevi Port on the EU sanctions list.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed a clear position, saying it is surprised that the Kulevi port was included in the project and the listing. Even Kaja Kallas was asked about this and could not provide an answer - nor could anyone - because there is no basis for it. For four years, there has been no issue or question regarding the operation of our ports. For four years, there has been no comment, no question mark about the operation of our ports”, the Speaker said.

He further spoke about the vessels stopped by Georgia, noting that the country acts voluntarily in support of the Ukrainian people.

“Georgia has stopped and returned 57 vessels, which God knows where they came from, and every country should check how these ships are moving. Georgia fulfills its obligations diligently and voluntarily, to ensure that its territory is not used to bypass sanctions. We have no obligations to the EU whatsoever. This is our goodwill, which we exercise not out of respect for the EU Ambassador, the European Commission, or Zelenskyy, but for the Ukrainian people”, the Speaker noted.

“The only reason we act voluntarily is to support the Ukrainian people and prevent sanctions evasion. No one else deserves this stance - neither Brussels, nor Zelenskyy, nor the European Commission. They should thank us, including from Brussels, for doing this and for stopping goods diverted from them. More than 2,000 shipments at Georgia’s land borders have been identified, halted, and returned”, he concluded.